‘Useful websites cannot be blocked’

PML-Q MPA seeking a permanent ban on access to Google Blogger for displaying what he called hate material against him.

LAHORE: Telecom (wireless) director, Mudassar Hussain, told the Lahore High Court (LHC) that a globally useful website cannot be blocked completely for containing objectionable material against Moonis Elahi. However, he said, the link to the material can be deleted from the website.

Hussain said this in a written reply filed in the court of Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif in response to a writ petition of Pakistan Mulsim League-Quaid-i-Azam (PML-Q) MPA Moonis Elahi seeking a permanent ban on access to Google Blogger for displaying what he called hate material against him.

Hussain said, “As part of government policy and in view of the valuable utility of major global websites, these sites cannot be blocked, only objectionable links can be blocked.”

He said this policy had also been endorsed by the Lahore High Court in a recent order calling for the blocking of Facebook, a popular social networking website, for containing blasphemous material.

Blocking of useful sites like Google, Hotmail and Yahoo, he said, was not in order as it went against the spirit of earlier decisions of the Lahore High Court as well as the federal cabinet.

He said that an inter-ministerial committee had been formed by the prime minister to evaluate and restrict offensive content on websites. He said this committee was an effective administrative forum for bringing cases related to websites. Hussain suggested that the petitioner should approach the committee to get a remedy and the court should dispose of the petition.

The chief justice, however, adjourned hearing till Tuesday as Deputy Attorney General Tanvir Hashmi sought time to go through the report and to file his submissions on the matter.

Moonis Elahi had prayed through his counsel Javed Iqbal Raja that the authorities be directed to block access to Google Blogger in Pakistan and the owner of this website be directed to respect and honour international conventions on individuals’ rights.

Elahi also requested the court to direct the owners of the website to immediately remove the ‘hate material’ against him for the sake of his honour.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2010.